Nassar scandal: US university president resigns

Michigan State University (MSU) on Friday accepted the resignation of its president over the university's failure to stand up for victims of former gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who sexually abused young athletes for more than two decades.

Lou Anna Simon submitted her resignation as MSU president on Wednesday night, immediately after Nassar, who worked for MSU and USA Gymnastics, the sport's national governing body, was sentenced to 45-175 years in prison for molesting some of the sport's top athletes and others under the guise of medical treatment.

Nassar was sentenced on Wednesday after an extraordinary seven-day court hearing during which more than 150 women and girls gave victim statements or had them read in court, reports Xinhua.

The accusers said they were regularly molested after they sought medical treatment for various injuries.

Many of the victims accused the MSU administrators and sports officials of not listening to their voices.

According to a Detroit News investigation, reports of sexual misconduct by Nassar reached at least 14 MSU representatives in the two decades before his arrest, with no fewer than eight women reporting his actions.

Among those notified was the president Lou Anna Simon, who was informed in 2014 that a Title IX complaint and a police report had been filed against an unnamed physician," she admitted.

The MSU Board of Trustees were now facing mounting pressure as well, given the fact that most of them have for long time voiced support to the president on the issue.

Michigan state legislators were reportedly considering ways to impeach all the trustees if they don't resign.

Also on Friday, Michigan State University athletic director Mark Hollis announced that he was retiring. Hollis' departure is the latest development in the fallout from Nassar's sex abuse scandal.

--IANS

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